Liza O’Connor – Climbing Out Of Hell

Since Trent chooses the GW Bridge to fake his suicide, I thought you might like to know what my research came up with.

****

Interesting facts about the George Washington Bridge

When originally built in 1931, it was called Hudson River Bridge, but they soon decided it was too grand for such a boring name and gave it a more memorable one.

Over 53 million people cross the GWbridge in a year (in cars, on bikes or on foot)

Originally the towers were to be encased with concrete and granite, but reviewers loved the bare steel beams, so they left them bare. Had this not been the case, I doubt they could have gained permission to add the second level of traffic beneath the top, due to weight issues on the structure. Having two layers of vehicle traffic makes the GW Bridge the only suspension bridge with 14 lanes of traffic. 8 lanes on top and 6 in the lower deck.

Now to the facts that would have helped Trent create a better plan to fake his suicide:

GW Bridge gets more suicides than all the other NYC bridges combined

The bridge has a pedestrian & bike path, which is open from 6 am to midnight.

Cameras and patrol officers monitor the pedestrian walkway.

There is NO netting to prevent jumpers. If you can get over the fence, you can leap to your death.

The bridge stands 604 feet above the water. At that height, if you jump, the water surface will feel like concrete, even for an experienced diver. Death is a near certainty.

I suppose if a speed boat happened to pass over your impact site just before you, in a proper diving position, hit the water you could survive, since the boat would aerate the water, removing its concrete quality at impact. But generally speaking, if you jump off the bridge, expect to live 6.5 seconds then splatter on concrete water.

If you stand before the rail and relive all the reasons why you intend to jump off the bridge, you will mostly likely be secured by the police and taken to a psyche ward where hopefully you’ll discover how to want to live.

There are NO LOITTERING signs everywhere, and if you stop to enjoy the beautiful view for too long, a patrol officer will question your purpose and advise you to move on. If you look sad or distracted, you will probably be led off the bridge and questioned further.

In 2013, there were 15 suicides and 49 interventions. That means your chance of successfully jumping over the inconsequential barrier is less than 28% because either you aren’t able to lift your body weight over the railing or you fail to act quickly. This is not a good suicide bridge for the weak, the overweight, the short, or the procrastinator.

Your chance of dying if you manage to get over the rail and jump is 99.9999999%.

Trent’s original plan to fake his death, was:

1) At 3 a.m., on a moonless night, drive a limo onto the bridge-sounds simple, but he had to learn how to drive to do this.

2) Leave his car in the far left lane, cross to the pedestrian walkway (there’s a concrete barrier, but you can climb over it) and wait until someone sees him staring down at the water- Bad idea. Stopping the car on the bridge will get securities attention at once.

3) Sneak off bridge to NJ side- There is no sneaking. The bridge has lots of cameras. He’ll be upgraded from jumper to terrorist when he leaves his car in the middle of the bridge and walks to NJ.

4) Flag a taxi on the Fort Lee side. – First of all, he’ll be arrested long before he reaches the Fort Lee side. But secondly, taxis do not lurk about the CLOSED and LOCKED pedestrian paths at 3 am hoping for passengers. That’s not how taxi’s work in NJ.

No wonder Detective Pascal called this the stupidest plan ever.

So he made some changes.

1) He tells Trent the location of a camera dead spot, so he can park there making it impossible for him to be seen on any cameras.

2) Trent then throws his shoes and wallet into the water, wraps his shirt around a rock and tosses it over. (He forgets to check for boats passing beneath, but thankfully there weren’t any.)

3) The moment Trent parks his car and climbs over to the pedestrian side, Pascal, following behind him, puts on his lights and stops. He locates the barefooted, shirtless Trent, and stuffs him inside his trunk, then grabs a search light and checks out the pedestrian path for the benefit of the cameras further away. Finally, he calls in a possible jumper.

4) Once his partner shows up to take over, he drives off, claiming he has a higher priority case.

5) He conveys Trent (still in his trunk) to a closed airport where a plane is waiting for him.

Without the assistance of Detective Pascal, who hates Trent, the fake suicide would have never worked.

Why would he help a man he hates?

Because Mars saved his life in Iraq and he did this for Mars. He puts his career on the line to help the jerk fake his suicide. He’s not happy about it, but Mars called his debt, so he did it.

So we owe the fabulous new ‘Trevor Campbell’ to Mars. Otherwise, old Trent would be in prison, and I don’t think that would have made him nearly as fabulous as Trevor is.

So let’s discover more about the NEW Trevor Campbell (AKA Trent Lancaster)…

Climbing Out ofHell

Book 4 of the series

A Long Road to Love

Romantic Comedy

Billionaire Trent Lancaster has destroyed his relationship with the only woman who ever loved him. Now we discover the full truth of what happened.

He actually had reasons for his behaviors.

Still, there is no going back. Trent has lost Carrie forever, but he would rather die than marry Coco, so he does just that. Trent gives away most of his possessions, fakes his death, and starts over with a new face and a better attitude in a small town in Iowa where his half-brother Sam is sheriff.

Losing his true love has fundamentally broken Trent to his core. His only chance for happiness is to become the better man Carrie had always seen inside him.

True change is not easy. Can Trent grow up and become a man we can love?

Excerpt

Sam burst into the kitchen, frowned at Trent, then focused on Dani. “Leroy is at it again. I thought you said you were going to hide the damn thing?”

“I did. But there aren’t many places one can hide an AK-47 rifle.”

“Well, you hid it worth shit because it’s raining lead again at the downtown square!”

She gripped her head as if it might explode.

“What’s the problem?” Trent asked.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Iowa passed a law allowing blind people to carry guns in public. So her grandfather, who is blind as a bat, sits on a bench in the square and shoots his AK into the trees.”

“What’s he trying to shoot?”

“Pigeons,” Sam and Dani answered at once. She glared him into silence and continued her reply. “He likes pigeon soup. A Pakistani doctor told him it would prevent strokes.”

“Well, he’s giving me a stroke,” Sam snapped. “You have to make him stop!”

“I’ve talked to him until I’m blue in the face. He won’t listen to me. Most of the time he thinks I’m three-years old. Who listens to a three-year-old?” She threw her hands up in frustration and turned back to the grill.

Trent didn’t care for the way Sam pushed Dani. Grandparents were impossible to boss around…at least his had been. “Why don’t you talk to him?’

Sam released a hurricane of air. “Because the mayor told me to stay away from him, since he is not breaking any laws, and any attempt on my part could result in a lawsuit against the town.” He eyed Trent. “You should talk to him.”

“Sam, Trevor’s been in town an hour. You know Gramps doesn’t trust people right off.”

“Neither do you, yet here he sits, like an old friend, watching you cook him dinner.”

She rescued the burgers off the grill, slapped them both on buns, and shoved one at Sam. “This is your hamburger. Trevor is holding out for braised lamb.”

“Point still stands. Look, I think he can do the job. I intended to hit him with a ticket but he was so nice I sent him to you instead. He’s a likable guy. Let’s send him out and see if he can stop this madness.”

Trent stood up. “Sam, you’re digging yourself into a hole. Your initial solution was excellent, and frankly I’m honored you think so well of me. I’ll go talk to him right now. Just tell me how to get to Pigeonville.”

Sam grinned and slapped him on the back as he led him out of the kitchen. “Way to man up. Seriously, I’ll owe you one if you can get the gun away from Leroy and bury it six feet under.”

Trent just hoped being a nice guy didn’t get him buried six feet under as well.

“Be warned though, this book is completely different from The Worst Week Ever. Yes, there is still humor, dry wit, situations that you would think…NOT AGAIN but this one humanizes Trent more.” 5 stars – Brian’s Mom – Amazon

Once again, Ms. O’Connor has written a brilliant book about the complexities of relationships, good and bad. Again, to me, the book is the best break up book EVER and it left my heart singing in the end. Best.Book.Ever…

Liza lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels. She loves to create interesting characters, set them loose, and scribe what happens.

Wow, that's a kewl bridge! I'm scared of them, and go as fast as I can across them!

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Guest

Liza O'Connor

Well, they will let you run across the bridge or bike, but be warned if you wear a look of panic, you'll probably be stopped and questioned as a terrorist. So I'd stick to driving if I were you and you will go neither faster or slower than the car in front of you. One Saturday It took me 2 hours to cross the bridge. 2 hours!!! I could have walked across several times by then.

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Guest

Jennifer Lowery Kamptner

I've been learning so much from your posts this week, Liza! And that is one cool bridge! Of course, I'm terrified of heights, so bridges scare the crap out of me, lol. Congrats on the release!!

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Guest

Liza O'Connor

Me too. I had no idea how little I knew until I'd write a scene and then fact check what my characters wanted to do. For a fun, playful romance, this book required me to research Deaths by walking in NYC, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Where the priests live (a well kept secret BTW. GWBridge and their suicide/terrorist precautions, What can actually be done to change a face, The laws surrounding Iowa allowing blinds to carry loaded weapons in public, The dangers of bullets falling from the skiy, the diseases you can get from blow jobs, Nebraska fixing their children safe… Read more »

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Guest

Melissa Keir

Liza always has such interesting posts. I love reading the details! Thanks for sharing about GW Bridge. I guess suicide will be done somewhere else where the statistics are higher. 🙂

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Guest

Liza O'Connor

LOL, There are easier bridges to die from.

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Guest

Toni Kelly

Well, this demonstrates a very good lesson in fact checking, lol. Fortunately, this worked out and made for a great blog afterwards! And, well now I've had fun imagining how many ways this could have gone wrong and I think and hope, anyone who was considering jumping off a bridge will reconsider, realizing it's just too much work and they'd be better off staying alive!

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Guest

Liza O'Connor

Yes, however, one theory why they don't use nets is because if a person is determined to jump off something, it's better for innocent bystanders that they do it here than a building. But their stats of stopping a suicide is impressive.

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Guest

Ella Quinn - Romance Novelist

I had no idea how hard it was to jump off a bridge. Tweeted.

Vote Up0Vote Down Reply

4 years ago

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Now Available!

Newsletter

Signup for news, special offers, and opportunities to receive Advance Reader Copies!